Week 90

Its another week down in the hood... It was good to talk to everyone on Christmas! This week flew by. It was a great week!

QUESTIONS:

 

1.  What was your most memorable experience this week?
We had Rap Battle Friday and I was the only person to write a rap.. And since our area was split and there´s 4 missionaries now, Elder Johnson and I have a brand new phone and not everyone has our number! So we did a prank call, inviting a Elder Kesler and Elder Hardy over to "eat pizza.." Then I busted out my rap and they knew it was us.. Elder Hardy said he took piano lessons from Vaghn Christensen! Cool huh!

 

2.  How is your dog bite?  Was is pretty painful when it happened?  How is it feeling now?
Its all good now. I just have some scars from it, but they´re not too bad.

 

3.  Have you found any new investgators in your new area this past week?
Yeah, that´s one thing I love about this area! We´re always finding news! There were a lot of weeks in my last area where we didnt find any new investigators. But we find a lot of new people to teach every week! I love it. We´re just getting more people lined up for baptism!

 

4.  Have you seen any new creatures in your new area?  Monkey's, Rats, Toads?
There´s a lot of frogs here.. Its fun! Like, huge toads the size of soft balls.

 

5.  How was church for you this week?
It was good! 4 people got confirmed yesterday! :D There are a lot of people that don´t have their member records, so we´re going to be doing a lot of re-baptizing. I got to baptize 2 people on Saturday! Its been like 7 months! One guy that got baptized was an investigator of Elder Althoff and Elder Lumpkin, but he said he wanted "Elder Guapo" to baptize him.. Thats me :D They asked what Heiner means in Spanish, but it doesn´t mean anything.. But Elder Lumpkin told them it means "guapo". And now thats what they call me.

Thats cool that Clint had a dream and I was there! People always see the pictures from my farewell and he´s in them. Hows he doing? The last time I saw him was the night before Zach went into the MTC.

So yeah, lifes pretty good here in Ypané! I stinkin love this place! President Agazzani and his wife came out to church yesterday to get the members excited about our goal of 200 people in church. Elder Johnson asked him to come last week in his letter to President, and he came! It was so cool! We asked him a lot of questions and we changed the limits of our area a little bit.. Like between Ypané 1.1 and 1.2- we have more city in our area now! Before it was all the country part! Its like a bigger version of Melba.. It has a little city and lots of country. Its a lot bigger than Melba though.

We were walking down the street and saw a Mercedez-Benz coup from the early 2000´s and Elder Johnson and I were thinking it was a fake one from Brazil.. We were staring at the car as we walked by and the driver was looking at us and yelled, in English, "Hey are you guys Americans?!" You betta believe it playa! So we went and started talking to him.. He was born and raised in New York and is down here visiting his family! He´s 18 years old and his name´s Joseph. But he´s 100% Paraguay-blooded. So it was cool to talk to him in English for a little bit. It´s actually really weird to talk to people in English here who aren´t other missionaries. There´s a lot of foreign exchanged students here from the States, Belgium, and other countries and they all speak English! Its pretty cool, but I´ve only met the 2 kids from Belgium.

We had a fun week! I don´t have any of the pictures from the baptism on my camera, but I´ll hopefully have them from Elder Lumpkin before next week! I think we have some other baptisms coming up too, so I´ll keep you posted!

Have a great week! I love you!!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

WEEK 89~~CHRISTMAS CALL!! PICTURES

Hey! I´ll be in the internet place at noon tomorrow. We´re gonna call the guy today and get it reserved so we can have it to ourselves! I have some pictures I¨m sending right now from this last week, so enjoy!
We had a white elephant party at the mission home, just my zone and 2 other ones.. All the other zones had the party in different places.
The other elders had a baptism on Saturday, so we went to the river! My area is right on the border of Argentina.. only the river separates us. So I got some really cool pictures of that.
Also, when we were walking yesterday, we saw a giant stage set up that says, "Jesus comes again, prepare yourself!" There´s a crazy group of people from Lima, Peru that are brainwashing people and saying that Christ was born again and that his new name is Ezequiel.. and they are getting SO many people!  If they tried to go to America to do that, everyone would throw them out.. Good thing they don´t speak English. Plus its easier for them to come to Paraguay to trick everyone...

Welp, see ya tomorrow!!!
Love you.
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

Week 88 ~~Transferred to Ypane~~New Companion Elder Johnson

I dig the pictures from Drake and Nicole! hahaha.. They´ve got Drake written all over them. Plus the mustache was a nice touch. That story freaked me out about Rafe! Is he ok? Jeez!
Alright.. Here´s what´s going on :D

QUESTIONS:

1. Did you get transferred? If you did, Where are you?
I am in Ypané!! It´s super close to Asunción :D I´m soooo happy to be here! I´m in a ward with a legit building and a bishop and councelors and teachers and everything else! So I guess the Church does run well in some parts here...

2. Who is your companion? Where is he from? Details!!
My comp is Elder Vance Johnson from Queen Creek, Arizona! He´s awesome! We get along super well and like a lot of the same stuff. It´s super easy to talk to him. And we work really well together! Which is really nice. I´m SO excited to be here!!

3. What is your new area like?
The complete oposite from all the rest.. Wow. Haha it has everything my other areas didn´t have! It´s great! I love my other areas and I´m glad I went to them, but I think this is going to be my favorite! Its HUGE! There´s 4 missionaries here and we all live in the same house so it´s really fun. So its Elder Johnson and I, and Elder Altoff (he came with me) and Elder Lumpkin (who just finished being trained by Elder Johnson..) They split the area and put Elder Altoff and I here. It´s been great so far! We found more new investigators last week than I had members in church in my last area! So its been nice! :D And my new house has AC!!

4. How is it different from Coronel Oviedo?
Things run a lot smoother.. I´ll tell you all about it when I get home..
 

BIG QUESTION? (This is for Ashlin Cowger who recieved her mission call to Paraguay North Mission!!!)

5. What are things you wish you would have taken with you in your suitcase to Paraguay that you didn't have or that you needed right off the bat in Paraguay? What are things you wish you wouldn't have brought/packed to go to Paraguay? Any advice for her as she prepares to leave in April? (Just thought it might be helpful for her since you are there! Jeff gave me the idea of asking you those two questions!)
That is SO COOL!! The north mission would be so cool to go to, even though its a lot more laid back than my mission.. She´s going to love this place! I´m excited for her!
Get reading the Book of Mormon! Study the organization of the Primitive Church of Christ in the Bible! Namely authority (priesthood), prophets, apostles, etc. Study EVERYTHING you can about baptism in the Bible. You´ll see that the original Apostles of Christ re-baptized people because they weren´t baptized correctly the first time.. You´ll study the Book of Mormon too, but start off with the Bible so you have a better understanding. Study stuff like that. And of course, Preach My Gospel! Especially chapter 6. It´s overwhelming when you first get here.. If you get shoes, go with Hush Puppies, not Eccos.. Don´t buy super expensive clothes because the salesman says "its better.." Your clothes will last just fine. Just take care of your stuff! BRING A MOSQUITO NET! If not, you will get eaten alive. AHH I´m so excited I know someone else who is coming down here!! This place is great! Oh yeah, bring lots of sunscreen.. It gets hot! It usually stays around 90 degrees in the night and passes 120 during the day. But the north mission gets to use hats, so tranquilo.. You´re being sent to Paraguay because you´re a warrior. DO IT!! You´ll be tested, but the Lord is sending you here to strengthen you!

So yeah, we had a sweet week! I´m so stoked to be here! My area has city, but where our limits are, we work out in the fields pretty much.. Out in the country. I´m right on the border of Argentina, there´s just a small river that separates the 2 countries, so Elder Johnson and I took an adventure and found the river and took some pictures! On the way out there, we stopped at a house and started talking to a guy. He told us that his cousins recently were baptized in the church and that he wants to learn more too.. As we were talking to him, I heard a baby crying and looked up and saw a lady carrying a baby and a couple heavy bags, coming towards the house we were in. So we ran out to help her bring the bags in, and their dog bit me! A big German Shepard looking dog.. It ripped my pants open almost all the way down the seam and his teeth sunk into my leg.. So, they got me a towel and I cleaned my wounds as she sewed my pants back together. But it was a good ice breaker! I´m ok though, dont worry. If it starts looking infected I´ll just go to the pharmacy and get some meds. I got pictures too!

Other than that, it was just a normal work week! We found some people that are excited to learn more about the Gospel! Finally!! I love teaching people the Gospel! It´s what brings true happiness! Elder Johnson and I and Elder Altoff and Elder Lumpkin are going to tear it up!!! Elder Altoff and I are most likely going to finish our missions here, so we´re just gonna dig down and do work! We put the goal of having a church attendence of 200 people before the end of this change.. We had 75 yesterday.. The most I´ve ever had in the mission by double! haha. So its gonna be great! The members are excited because there´s 4 missionaries now. We´re gonna be getting references like crazy and baptize lots.

I got in 2 foot races this last week. One with my comp and one with a little Paraguayan guy.. I got smoked both times. Elder Johnson ran long distance track in college, and we ran a long distance, so he beat me.. And the Paraguayan guy and I did like a 100 meter dash and he went barefoot.. So he beat me. Qué lástima.. Then, we saw an airliner.. The first one I´ve seen since I´ve been here.. As we were looking up, Elder Johnson asked me, "How far away is that?" and I was like, "Pff.. I dont know! haha" Then he said, "4 months..." Good one! I wish is were 6 months! Or more! But 2 years is 2 years.. So yeah, I´m STOKED to be here!

OH! On Christmas day! At 12:00 noon PARAGUAY TIME I´ll skype y´alls! I have my skype stuff already! I´m excited!! Drake and Nicole better be there! They only live like 30 mins away.. I wanna see the whole family!!

Love you!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

Pictures are coming in another email! :D

 

Elder Heiner and Elder Gull and ?

Elder Heiner and Elder Gull

Got Bit By This Dog

 

Week 87

What´s up y´all! I can´t believe it´s pday again! The weeks are going by super fast! We find out changes tomorrow, I´ve already been in this area for 6 months.. So.. Change? Please? :D
It was good to hear about Damon and Rafe!! I can´t wait to see them! I can´t believe Damon is talking.. When I left he was only like 10 months old! Crazy.. And I can´t believe that Rafe is gonna be a year old next month!
So you got my travel plans, huh? Haha. I´ve loved my mission, and I´ve learned and grown a ton.. But I´m excited to start my life and use the stuff I´ve learned here. I´m super glad I came on a mission and learned all the stuff that I have. It´s like D&C says, the more we learn in this life, the more it benefits us in the next..

QUESTIONS:

1. How are Cesar and Silvia?
Cesar´s dad is in the hospital and is about to die.. So we haven´t been able to meet with them lately. But as far as we know, they´re doing well.

2. Has church attendance held steady?
Kind of.. We had 24 people at church yesterday. It wasn´t terrible, but it´s a pretty big drop from last week. I don´t know what happened.

3. With increased attendance have you received any member referrals?
Nope.. Still working on that one..

4. Is there any of the members that are coming to church right now that seem like they could be good leaders? Take responsibility? More committed?
Still workin on that one too haha. There are members that could take on leadership, but there´s no leadership training here.. The only church leaders in this city are the district president and his 4 branch presidents.... I´ve seen some weird politics in the church here. Things have been done that shouldn´t have been done. I´ll tell you all about it in a few months when we´re all sittin around in the living room :D

5. Do you know how your Branch President is feeling about the interviews he has been having with the members?
I think he´s felt good about them.  They postponed the temple trip until February. Maybe that will give them enough time to get everything done they need to.

6. When do the youth in your Branch get to go to the temple?
They all go with the adults. I think while the adults are doing their temple work, the youth go and do the baptisms.

7. What experience have you had this past week that was the most memorable?
I´ve been teaching the priesthood class for the last few months and I try to share as much stuff from the Book of Mormon as I can. Yesterday I taught from Alma 48. It talks about the preparation of the Nephites and the Lamanites when Captain Moroni was in charge of the Nephites. Amalicki (is that his name? In Spanish its Amalikíah..) was in charge of the Lamanites. It talks about how the 2 captains prepare their people for war. Nephites are the members of the Church and the Lamanites are the wicked.. Amalikíah is Satan and Moroni could be like the prophet or something.. Anyways, its a good chapter!

We had a good week.. We´re ready to see what changes are coming. We both think that I´m going because I´ve already been here for 6 months. And I guess there are some big changes coming to Oviedo on Friday, so we´ll see what happens. Other than that it was a pretty normal week.

Shaunie asked where I´m going to school when I get back.. It looks like BYU-I-Do for now. I´ve been thinking about BYU also. I heard there´s not that many people there so they´re just letting everyone in.. Maybe I´ll transfer over! I heard it´s a more prestigeous school or something..

Well, I´ll let you know next week if there were any changes! I feel like my areas have gotten progressively harder, so I´m hoping my next area will at least be self-reliant.. That would be nice.
Until next week!

I love you!!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

Week 86

This is so weird to me! I feel like the weeks are days.. Sometimes the days feel like weeks.. Daw!

I got the email about school.. I`m pretty dang excited to use all the skills I`ve gained here on the mission.. It`s funny you say Drake may need my skills around the area there, I`ve been thinking a lot about that these past couple weeks and I`ve been feeling like it would be a good choice. I feel better about staying there for the summer, rather than leaving the state. So if Drake`s down, I`ve got a couple buddies who would love to join it too!  There`s 3 guys that speak Spanish and know how to talk to strangers!

I can`t believe Jeff`s already almost done!! It doesn`t seem real. I remember always thinking about time when I first started the mission and I thought it would never end.. But the time winds down quick!

Happy Birthday to Haley! I thought about her on Saturday. I wish I could have been there! I loved that story you told me about Damon putting Shaunie on time out!!

QUESTIONS:

1. Picture explanation from last week please. Feet picture? Cute little boy? and One legged rooster?
I emailed one back, but my feet are fine, they just got all dirty from my shoes.. The little boy is Moises, president`s son. He just turned 2. And yes, thats a one legged rooster! You should see him try to walk around.. I`ll have to get a video of it.

2. So 31 people at church....that does seem like a good turn out for a branch. How was it this week?
We had 35 yesterday.. That`s the most I`ve had since I left Caaguazú, but the branch still needs a lot of help. We still need people to take over the classes and be trained on how to do it.

3. Did your investigator family come to church yesterday? What about the young couple that are living together and advancement there?
No, they`re not progressing so we`re gonna leave them for a while. But Cesar and Silvia went to church yesterday! We were supposed to have a FHE with them, but he said he didn`t want to anymore, so we thought we were dropped.. Then they came to church yesterday and we have a FHE with them tomorrow!

4. Do you have any exciting stories for us this week? Funny? Happy? Sad? Uplifting? Spiritual?
One of the brothers in the branch just makes up weird doctrine.. For example, "At baptism, we renew the covenant we made in the pre-earth life!" No!! Listen.. "Baptism: Our first covenant..." We just accepted God´s plan in the pre-earth life! It`s sad because I don`t think any of the other members know any better.

5. Did you save your Christmas decorations from last year and the Christmas lights? I was hoping that you would so you could have them this year too. If not that is okay.
Yeah I have them! Except the lights.. Those blew out when I plugged them in last year. But I have everything else!

This week, Roberto taught us from Alma 48.. Woah.. I thought it was just a boring war chapter, but after he explained everything to us, I realized that the war chapters have purpose too! Just think about it.. Amalikíah and Moroni: wickedness and righteousness.. What Amalikíah did to his people, what Moroni did to his people, how we can prepare ourselves.. It was pretty sweet! I love the scriptures!

We have changes next week.. I`m ready for some change. I feel exhausted all the time here. When I get home, can I just sleep for like 2 weeks? Recharge my batteries.. But if I leave this change, I`ll be off to my last area! That`s so crazy to me.. I only have 3 changes left. "No Elder don`t think about the time! It`s poison!" Sorry, gotta keep it real.

I`m gonna write Shaunie a little email..

I hope you all have a great week!! I love you! Thanks for everything!
Elder Colby Dane Heiner

Sorry, I didnt take any cool pictures this week. I`ll have some for next week!